rational person is crazy monstrous and misinformation is rife dismissal and denial of well documented accusations and evidence is part of genocide the listening post provides a critical counterpoint challenging mainstream media narrative at this time on al-jazeera. al-jazeera since its swear every since. the u.s. state department designates hamas leader ismail haniyeh a global terrorist announces sanctions against him.

and on the clock this is al jazeera life from london also coming up donald trump signed an order to keep the guantanamo bay prison camp open and possibly send i shall fight as that. judge says usa gymnastics don't tell laurie nasir is now known to sexually abuse two hundred sixty five goals. and a triple treat for star gazers his pots of see a blue moon super moon and a total lunar eclipse all rolled into one. the u.s. state department is designated the political leader of hamas ismail haniya a global terrorist and has slapped sanctions on him it means any u.s. based assets he holds will now be frozen amasses the palestinian faction which is de facto ruled the gaza strip since two thousand and seven is already considered

a terror organization by the united states or the hamas officials have also been added to the list that it isn't is not. just for a beginner. no religion it's for this reason we are considering this statement of is the foolish statement committed by people who know nothing about what freedom for. well as well honey i was born in a refugee camp west of gaza city he was close to him as a spiritual leader the late shaikh but yes seen but he was relatively unknown until he headed the hamas list and that's one the palestinian election in january two thousand and six and became prime minister he was elected to be him as his political chief in may last year and is seen as pragmatic and flexible in this attitude towards israel or u.s. state department correspondent roslyn jordan has more now from washington d.c. . because of the state department's designation east while honey is personal

finances if he has any in the united states will be seens to he won't have access to them he also would never be able to get a travel permit to come to the united states u.s. persons would also be banned and face possible prosecution if they provide any financial support to honey speight partment coordinator for counterterrorism nathan sales was in tel aviv on wednesday where he made the announcement about one of the reasons why honey a is being sanctioned now and here is the president a hamas political bureau is also closely tied to the group's terrorist operations including attacks on israeli citizens and he has been a member of hamas and the one nine hundred eighty s. and he rose through the ranks in large part but continually championing terrorism against israel the u.s. typically does not telegraph ahead of time whether it's going to put someone or an entity on this special list and that's because it wants to resist political

pressure either from people within the u.s. government or from other countries that said it probably would be fair to assume that the israeli government would be pleased with this designation in large part because. just in december called for a new intifada against the government in large part because of donald trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel when i live the european union said it will give an extra fifty three million dollars in aid to palestine following the u.s. decision to withhold its funding the e.u. foreign policy chief is frederica mongering he made the announcement to donors meeting in brussels the aid cannot come soon enough for the two million people in gaza where an israeli blockade has led to a worsening humanitarian situation imran khan reports on the day to day challenges its people are facing. gaza is crumbling. the siege imposed by israel in egypt now and its eleven pm and three walls have left its infrastructure

in ruins everything is in dire need of repair or replacement buildings roads house services. this is a shop day a refugee camp mo in abu dujan this house is not fit for human habitation according to the local united nations agency yet there's no money for even basic repair much less extensive reconstruction. and we are a family of eight people living in a small house until now we can provide food and i can't expand the house i only have two small rooms the house is too small and it's falling to pieces the blockade dictates the day to day reality for two million people in gaza where israel controls the borders space and walters goes an economic experts are warning that even if help is given immediately as security and humanitarian situation might be unavoidable many youth don't but. many of the first thing they want to leave gaza they want to leave anywhere the social. good i says and go under because the.

hey in ramallah the news that the israelis are talking about a billion dollar deal to ease humanitarian suffering in gaza has been met with skepticism and experts are wondering what any deal might actually mean or what does that really needs is an entitlement a serious entitlement effort led by the by the studios i don't think about very sorry lives are of the botty to speak of all that have been a bunch of at a time when it's lie and is putting forth for the bed the development of many blame israel for gaza's current state but others also say that the rift between the palestinian authority and hamas the largest political group in gaza has meant that things have stagnated remains under siege imran khan is a. us

president all the trump has decided to keep the nato has kuantan of my military prison open through an executive order and while the order allows for detainees to be transferred to the prison it's unclear where any potential detainees might come from however the pentagon has told our desire that iceland members captured in iraq and in syria will be detained but defense correspondent political hate has more. a big stage and a chance to make good on a big campaign promise u.s. president donald trump announced a new signed executive order he will keep the controversial guantanamo bay military prison open in the past we have foolishly released hundreds and hundreds of dangerous. only to meet again on the battlefield including the isis leader al baghdadi when we captured who we had who we released both of those statements are just not true i still leader abu bakar

al baghdadi was released in two thousand and four by a. rock and according to the u.s. director of national intelligence of the seven hundred fourteen get mo detainees that have been released one hundred twenty one are suspected of returning to the fight that's around seventeen percent the executive order says detainees can be transferred to the prison but it doesn't mean they will be it gives the secretary of defense ninety days to decide if anyone should be sent there a decision to do that would be controversial to many across the globe the international community needs to condemn the latest statement from donald trump president trump saying that he will keep the president and we know it doesn't we know it costs of us and we know that the human rights abuses manifold and it's a stain on any justice system there are forty one detainees still being held in guantanamo the majority have not yet face trial and even those cleared for release are facing an uncertain future as the trump administration decides if others will

meet the same fate petticoating al-jazeera washington. a u.s. judge says more than two hundred sixty five people have come forward to say that they were victims of convicted sports dr laurie nasir he's back in court to be sentenced for more sexual abuse charges around sixty people are expected to have their statements read in court a validation that not a buse them. may lead to clobber in the u.s. state of michoacan not so was sentenced to up to one hundred seventy five years in jail early this month for assaulting over one hundred fifty women and girls during his time as a doctor for the u.s. gymnastics team well among his victims were medalists including the u.s. gymnast cmon biles who won four golds and a bronze in the two thousand and sixteen rio games in an interview biles praised the judge who presided evanescence sentencing and explain just how difficult it was to speak out. i think it's very hard for someone to go through what i have gone

through recently and it's very hard to talk about. but even that i think that is my hero because she gave it to him and did it let him get any power over any of the girls and letting the girls go and speak was very powerful it can't hurt you any more. you can't. in germany opposition m.p.'s are demanding answers from the government about a scandal involving well known car makers and secret tests on top six exhaust fumes a research group funded by b.m.w. daimler involves wagoner it's reported to force humans on monkeys to inhale diesel engine exhaust gases only cain has more no burning. these are troubling times for germany's car makers. and news of the emissions tests on volunteers and monkeys on behalf of b.m.w.

damon fox by a shock to many including the w.'s chief executive who issued a rapid apology up discus to no good name yes in a statement that i consider such conditions to be unacceptable i can only apologize for these facts on behalf of our company to all affected i can only ensure that the process is in our company a reform to such a way that such conditions will no longer occur in the future dana quickly followed suit announcing the suspension of a senior executive and condemning the tests is just the latest emission scandal for the german car industry the diesel data fans where so-called defeat devices were fitted to engines to pass emissions tests has barely faded from the headlines these new revelations are prompting more this is the last thing the current acting government wanted to happen as it tries to build another coalition for this unfolding parliamentary term it's also raised questions in some minds about just how closely aligned senior government ministers are with the motor manufacturers

the environmental lobby is particularly incensed the dock of. politics has been battling for the car industry for years we are experiencing a situation where the car industry's b.m.w. to dime lots of folks walking in hanover and munich are effectively governing and even in the government in the form of the chancellor angela merkel helped broker a deal late last summer when the major manufacturers committed to steep productions in damaging emissions to the environment a volkswagen company video shows actions taken to remedy what many considered to be a public relations disaster the also most of industry is very important to germany creating many jobs and export revenue helping to make it the motor economy of europe which explains why the ethical questions now being asked of b.m.w. daimler and v.w. have such potential profound implications dominic kane al-jazeera berlin.

still ahead here on out there the u.s. wraps up its emergency aid to puerto rico even they found still have no electricity or running water after her career. and we join the colombian special forces all night patrol as they try to stop smugglers along the lawless border with venezuela . how low we're still got some rather lively showers into northern parts of australia but not as bad as it has been a recently you can still see the thunderheads in place here still a possibility of one or two showers but i suspect she'd be a touch drive to darwin over the next couple of days temperatures around twenty nine system a rattling of showers there across the top and into the gulf of carpentaria well the same as we go on into friday further south possibilities some wet weather just

affecting southern parts of queensland in the northern areas of new south wales postmen twenty five degrees celsius struggling to get into the low twenty's there for melbourne at about twenty two celsius on a friday less types of things to companies eylandt over the next couple days massive cloud filtering its way into has the remnants of tropical cycle and i he making its way in little cold front as well also nudging in the two combine to produce a flooding rains possibility of flooding rains into western parts of the sea in a full day horrible day this one we are going to see the big downpours maybe two hundred forty millimeters of right parts cross paths of the western side of the country temperatures still getting up to around twenty seven in christchurch for thursday falling right back to around eighty degrees as we go on into friday may even have a little dusting of snow in the southern alps. we have here is if we know the product from buying everything that you're doing that's

really where the power of the all powerful internet is both a tool for democracy and the threat you believe that any of your companies have identified the full scope of russian apted measures on your platform in the echo chamber world of fake news in cyberspace the rules of the game after changed there are no precedents people in power investigates this information and democracy at this time. and again let's a reminder the top stories here on al-jazeera and the u.s. state department says put the cd a political leader of hamas ismail haniya on its terra black list his financial

assets in the united states have been frozen and he's now the subject of a travel ban. us president donald trump has signed an executive order to keep the kuantan of the military prison open reversing an order by his predecessor to shut the facility down. and a u.s. judge says more than two hundred sixty five people have come forward to say they were victims of convicted sportstalk to larry who's back in cold to be sentenced for more sexual abuse charges. to british lawyers is seeking to get saudi arabia suspended from the u.n. human rights council over its own human rights record the kingdom is accused of arresting dozens of political activists detaining them without charge so yeah as this report. it's a case that has been given little attention given the recent state of affairs in saudi arabia thirty of its citizens detained without charge another thirty one who have apparently simply disappeared no one knows where they have gone or whether

they're being held nor have they been charged with any offenses a violation of saudi and international rules say the british lawyers who authored the report into the arrests and are now calling for the un to suspend the government of saudi arabia from the human rights council if they are committed to human rights and the instruments that they signed up to as well as international law then there's no need for the suspension if they put that into practice but. breach provisions of international codes should not be allowed to do that and still sit on a council that reviews human rights around the world with the double standard should be stopped much may have been made of the recent changes in saudi arabia since the countries of the throne mohammed bin salman assumed a wider role women have won the right to drive the last country in the world to have lifted that ban and a high profile corruption crackdown against members of the elite two significant attention around the world but human rights groups say while these actions are part

of a determined effort to change saudi's troubled image the reality is far removed from that vision of change dissent is silenced calls for change our sense it and even messages on social media can invite imprisonment and punishment the fact that both simple activists i mean jean according to our accounts and maybe more now that this new report has emerged r.j. soley for the human rights activism and this is absolutely not acceptable and i mean that the efforts of the crown prince to brand himself as a reformer cannot fly in the face of such blatant human rights violations as a member of the un's human rights panel there is much pressure on saudi arabia to fulfill its duties in that capacity one way would be to get key allies such as the u.k. a major exporter of arms to the kingdom to convince them to fulfill their legal obligations . saudi's rulers are expected to visit britain soon but there are concerns asked

how much of an effect prime minister theresa may would have on calls to respect the values that meant to uphold as members of the human rights council saudi arabia may be sensitive about his image question is how much would it be prepared to prove that it's willing to accept change within the kingdom. al-jazeera london. the french president tomorrow will mark or is warning that turkey is warning turkey against invading the northern syrian area of africa and turkey has been attacking the kurdish region for more than ten days free and it's controlled by the wipe e.g. syrian kurdish group turkey considers a terrorist organization stephanie. solidarity with the people of africa this protest is in the kurdish run area in northeast syria where people say they feel betrayed. for we condemn the turkish state we condemn russia because had it not been for russia giving the green light turkey would not have been able to

attack a free we say to russia and turkey that your fate and end will be at the hands of the heroes of the wipe e.g. just like the end of ice. in africa and funerals are held for fighters from the people's protection units or y p g. turkey considers the y.p. g a terrorist organization but fighters from the kurdish group across syria make up the backbone of the u.s. backed syrian democratic forces crucial and the most effective in the battle against until this is said to be video that is an area close to the border with turkey that has been heavily targeted sources have told al-jazeera that most people in these areas have fled due to the heavy bombardment. and the u.n. estimates around fifteen thousand are now displaced inside the region about and we're also told there been civilian casualties after random shelling in turkey denies this and says it only targets why peachey positions turkey's offensive is now. well into its second week the village with the smoke coming from it is inside

syria now turkey has been shelling the border areas on a daily basis i was also supported on the ground by free syrian army fighters this is the syrian rebels that turkey supports and they have a presence here in turkey along the border. we spotted a few free syrian army fighters on the side of the road there rarely seen this openly in turkey turkey has brought many of these f.s.a. fighters from syria and they are now waiting along the border for orders to advance we managed to speak to one of them who tells us the battle won't be easy record that. we're facing quite a few challenges first the weather didn't help us as it was foggy and raining second the why p.g. has advanced snipers that's why we are taking it slow and trying to control these mountains first. turkey say with the moment is to secure its border area with afy. air strikes and artillery can be heard all along this area but we're told that the y.p. jia well prepared and know the terrain this could be

a long and difficult fight stephanie decker zero on the turkey syria border now the u.s. government is winding down its disaster aid supports or despite thousands of people still being without power after her hit the island four months ago many fuel stations banks and supermarkets have reopened nearly all phone services are all operational but politicians in the territories capital are criticizing the u.s. federal emergency management agency or fema for ending new food and water shipments with no power more than thirty five percent of residents still do not have a way to safely store food in refrigerators josie rivera is a professor of social science at eastern university of puerto rico and he says that while cities and towns on the island are recovering the rural areas still need much more support. we are still in an upright humanitarian crisis especially especially in their sites so this shouldn't be assured if it needs to look it should be those

that distribution of food and water the metropolitan areas in there in the coastal areas but not in the quantities that i haven't had power since seeds year again emma that's one hundred forty seven days almost in three days it will be by months that is unacceptable in any part of the united states and we as citizens we demand that that brought mists of repairs so we can we can get on with our lives the major highway in rio de janeiro has repeatedly been shut down due to a shoot out between police and suspected drug traffickers people were forced to take cover beside their cars on the road which is known as normal or thirty's stop the traffic three times with cars backing off for miles brazil is going through its worst recession in decades and the poor economy has led to an upsurge in violence through in venezuela economic collapse is led to a surge in crime not just at home but also in neighboring colombia criminal gangs

or find the increasingly lucrative to smuggle goods across the border and sell them at inflated prices and it's on to run p.l.c. went on night patrol with colombian special forces hunting smugglers along the venezuelan border. shots ring out over to see mom believe a bridge dividing colombia and venezuela as people died and run for cover. in the last four months at least fourteen gun fights have erupted in the border town of. the gun battles have left forty people dead as colombian in venezuela and crime groups fight for control of the lucrative contraband of goods on this porous lawless border. the mayor says people are terrified. that if we need the national government to wake up about the effects of venezuela's crisis we are being told we need to prepare for what will come what is not what will come it's already here. since been president shut down the border last year to all but

foot traffic violence has increased tenfold. inflation is too profitable at temptation for the gangs. in two years the colombian peyser has increased forty times in value over diminished. cross border smuggling once limited to petrol now extends to scrap metal fruits meat or anything that can fetch three times its price in venezuela. response has been increasing police presence on the ground. so we're going to look for trucks full of contraband in this area probably informants already warned the smugglers of our presence so the trucks can be hidden in one of the trails. in pitch darkness in complete silence the officer spots rolled through a maze like collection of ever expanding trails but it's like finding a needle in a haystack at this. columbia special forces are on the lookout here on the river

toci which divides bin it's from colombia this is just one of over one hundred forty known crossings that smugglers use to move goods into colombe and of course it's practically impossible to control all of them despite the police best efforts but experts say the fight is also undermined by the lack of collaboration between the two countries and exacerbated by persistent corruption there's no doubt that the border is being sold to the highest bidder this area is in the hands of criminal enterprises dedicated to drug trafficking large scale smuggling extortion kidnapping human trafficking and it has been activated by the closure of the border the rising crime is just another side of be increasing economic and social crisis and been a swale and that has no end in sight alison that i'm i'll just have to give it a saudia. a kenyan opposition m.p. has been arrested after the staged inauguration of royler

a dinger on choose day the mock swearing in of the opposition leader in nairobi was condemned by the government as a form of treason lawyer an m.p. who swore in t.j. was arrested on wednesday afternoon three t.v. channels that covered certainly have also been shown. the french coast guard has now called off the search for the chief executive of the company that owns popular software brugge quicksilver. went fishing early on tuesday and later sent a message that he would be returning late because of thick fog his boat was found washed up on a beach near the french surfing resort he set off from which is also his. hong kong has voted to ban ivory sales members of the legislative council passed a bill that will completely abolish the market within the next three years it includes a ban on hunting trophies and ivory taken from elephants of nine hundred seventy five. now for a lucky star gazers on wednesday there was

a chance to witness something that hasn't happened for decades as a lunar eclipse coincided with a super moon and a blooming rob reynolds stick in the spectacle in los angeles. for an hour or so the familiar face of the moon slipped on a blood red manske a spooky transformation that delighted luna fanatics including a large group that gathered outside the griffith observatory high in the hills above los angeles to celebrate the celestial spectacle and amazing and who would carry it through the exciting i think for those of us who don't quite remember our school astronomy lessons here's how a lunar eclipse works of course the moon orbits around the earth and the earth casts a shadow. and when the moon goes through the shadow cast by the earth again a lunar eclipse and why does the moon turn red sunlight is filtering through

earth's atmosphere and that's turning the light red it filters out the blue and lets the red through just like a sunset looks red because the blue is scattered away and the red comes through so we like to say sometimes that during a lunar eclipse you're seeing if you were on the moon you'd be looking at all the sunrises and sunsets on earth ancient greek astronomers who study lunar eclipses concluded from the shape of the earth's shadow that the world was round many people who watched lunar eclipse said it was in a way humbling putting human kind and all of its petty affairs in perspective those thoughts absorbed this multinational group of students who stayed up way past bedtime to moon. it makes us feel like all our problems are like the political in the nicety something goes on is so small compared to what else is going on but like i said it brings everyone here together like forgetting all the issues there's no there's no niceness around this everyone's just brought together to appreciate it

with no ugliness no political drama nothing it's just to appreciate this beautiful event in the mind and somehow be who we are how small we are in the world you know just to. heinie ploy of the union varies and it's amazing to feel maybe you know. this eclipse took place when the moon is closest to the earth in its elliptical orbit a so-called super moon and it's the second full moon in a calendar month known as a blue moon that means this was super blue blood moon which is kind of a mouthful but whatever you call it it was a heavenly sight to remember robert oulds al jazeera los angeles. or just time for a quick recap of the headlines here on out there and the u.s. state department has put the senior political leader of hamas ismail haniya on his

terrible atlast amasses the palestinian faction which is a de facto ruled the gaza strip since two thousand and seven and the air is now subject to a travel ban in his had his financial assets in the united states frozen has risen jordan has more this designation says that. and i'm quoting now is the leader and president of the political bureau of hamas going on to say that he has close links with hamas is military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle including against civilians continuing to quote he has been involved in terrorist attacks against israeli citizens hamas has been responsible for an estimated seventeen american lives killed in terrorist attacks the european union is giving an extra fifty thrive fifty three million dollars in aid to palestine following the u.s. decision to withhold funding the foreign policy chief federica mongery made the announcement to donors meeting in brussels the un has warned that goes this economy

is on the verge of collapse. yes president all trump has signed an executive order to keep the notorious prison at guantanamo bay open revoking a decision by his predecessor to shut it down in his state of the union address on tuesday trump warned hundreds of dangerous terrorists had been released in the past but this would no longer be allowed to happen the u.s. military prison in cuba has long been a symbol of human rights abuses during the so-called war on terror to british lawyers have submitted a review of human rights in saudi arabia to the un human rights council seeking to get it removed from the body it's accused of arresting political activists and detaining them without charge. a judge in the united states says more than two hundred sixty five people have come forward to say they were victims of convicted sports dr larry nasa is backing cole to be sentence for more sexual abuse

charges around sixty people are expected to have their statements read out in court over allegations that nassar abused them at an elite club in the u.s. state of michoacan throughout europe stay with headlines hit on al-jazeera correct next its people and path. east and the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the web. al-jazeera. recent elections most notably that to trump is u.s. president of highlighted the dangers to democracy posed by their use using social media and the internet to spread malicious propaganda and fake news so how and why

our platforms such as faced.